


Invincible

by fandomsandshit



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aladdin (Disney movie) is the good kush, Angst, FRIDAY is the responsible adult, FUCK ecology, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener Whump, Hurt Harley Keener, M/M, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, and biology papers, i'll roll with it, this wasn't supposed to be angst but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24863815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandshit/pseuds/fandomsandshit
Summary: It’s like watching his soul bleed out onto a page, he thought. Like watching his very essence crumble to ash and get blown away by a gentle breeze, so that he can see every atom departing from himself.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	Invincible

**Author's Note:**

> this is fucking angst. i swear to god i had a fluffy, funny parkner fic all planned out in my head, and then i spew out 1500 words of harley angst. im a fucking mess.

Mr. Whitehall was an asshole.

It’s not that he was particularly evil or anything, but Harley could think of at least 15 other ways he could be spending his time usefully. None of which included a Biology paper. At this point, he doesn’t even know why he still goes to his class, if not for a broader knowledge. Harley was about engineering and mechanics, not biology and stupid animal research papers. But, I digress.

He wasn’t even paying attention to what he was writing, going off hope and a prayer that it was actually related to the subject. Harley doesn’t think he could ever forget when he submitted an advanced ecology paper, but it was actually the entire transcript of _Aladdin_. In his defence, ecology is boring as shit and _Aladdin_ is the good kush. Can you really blame him for picking the superior use of time?

It’s like watching his soul bleed out onto a page, he thought. Like watching his very essence crumble to ash and get blown away by a gentle breeze, so that he can see every atom departing from himself. Like watching his stable consciousness melt into a puddle of insanity and slip between the prison bars of coherency, leaving him vulnerable to attacks from a wandering mind. Like watching his spirit decay like that of an overripe apple, rotting and _decomposing_ -

“Mr. Keener?”

Harley startled, not unlike a victim of electrocution. Upon looking down, he was surprised to see a pool of ink seeping across the surface of his pine desk. He made no move to clean it up.

“Mr. Keener, you have been in the same position for over an hour now.”

Had he? Time was a fickle thing, slipping through his fingers when his hands were coated in the oil of an absent mind.

“Should I contact Boss?”

God, _Tony._ How would he feel, knowing that Harley’s grades (which, coincidentally, he had hidden from everyone) were slowly but steadily becoming like time, sliding down the tunnel of D’s and F’s like a paper boat would in a stream? How would he feel, knowing that Harley had sat unresponsive for the good part on an hour now, making no effort to hold onto understanding of the present time, instead letting his mind drip down a metaphorical drain? Yet, still, Harley made no move to speak.

“Contacting Boss now…”

That got a reaction. It was like he was suddenly snapped back into reality, with the knowledge that not doing anything would result in uncomfortable questions _(are you ok? are you finding this difficult? do you need help? are you ok? is the work too easy or hard? ARE YOU OK?)._ He let out a small choke, suddenly bestowed with the gift of speech.

“FRIDAY, it’s fine! He doesn’t need to bother coming up here! Just tell him to stay put!” Harley pleaded. His façade was cracking, and Tony didn’t need to see that happening. How could he cover up the endless abnormalities when he was fixed with an unwavering stare, one that seemed to see into every crevice of his mind?

“I’m sorry Mr. Keener, he appears to be on his way up now.” FRIDAY did actually sound apologetic, but not regretful. This new knowledge sent Harley into a frenzy. Frantically, he grabbed the nearest tissues to clean up the mess the ink had left. Maybe it had stained the pine wood forever, but that was not a pressing matter. After chucking away the soaked tissues and paper, he jumped onto his bed with distance that would probably make Peter proud. Grabbing the nearest book, Harley opened it to a random page and pretended to be engrossed in its contents.

The door opened soundlessly, a testament to how high-quality the material was. Briefly, Harley wondered how many other components were included to give it that characteristic. Maybe some sort of soundproofed case layering the hinges? However, that train of thought was cut off when a head poked around the door.

Tony’s face was a healthy tan colour, and his eye bags were not prominent bruising covering face his face. This was more common nowadays, since Pepper had started cracking down on him setting a good example for Morgan. He was still a major insomniac, but he wasn’t spending weeks trapped in the lab with only DUM-E, U, Butterfingers and sometimes Peter for company. Worry lines only deepened upon realising Harley’s outward appearance, illuminated by the strong but warm glow from his desk light.

“What brings you to my humble abode, old man?” Harley tried for snark, but it sounded wrong coming from his rough, unused voice. He winced, knowing that Tony would pounce upon that small detail and decipher his mental state. Despite being oblivious to most things, Tony was surprisingly observant when it came to the wellbeing of others. Never had Harley hated that trait so much as now.

“Just checking on you kiddo,” Tony said, the tone clearly stating _don’t try to bullshit me._ “FRIDAY mentioned that you were unresponsive. You wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly, since there is nothing to talk about.” Harley snapped, desperate to be encased in solitude once again.

“Are you sure?”

Instead of a reply, Harley stood and made his way over to the door, intending to push him out. Tony eyes were focused on his left leg as he moved, and Harley belatedly realised that he was limping. Oh well. No use trying to cover it now. It had been there so long, he barely noticed it anymore.

“What’s the limp for kid?”

“My leg fell asleep. I’m sure it will wake up soon enough, just to kick your ass.”

“Har har, hilarious.”

“So’s your face, but you don’t see me laughing at it.”

Tony gave him an amused grin. Worry was still clouding his eyes, but at least he was smiling. Harley’s chest _ached_ , he longed for that worry to dissipate, since he was clearly undeserving of it.

“Peter’s waiting for you in the lab. He said something about nano-tech and Star Wars, so you better get your ass down there.”

And _Peter._ The little ray of sunshine, who could cast away storm clouds with a smile. He’s a kind of saving grace to people like Harley, people who have seen too much hatred and have lost faith in the world, people who crack and crumble like hurricane-ridden houses, people who have perfected their mask to a tee and cause others to think their real self is an act, people who build up their walls to see who cares enough to break them down. Peter and Harley have both had different kinds of trauma, yet Peter can take it in his stride, seek help from others and try to put more good in the world, whereas Harley has been suffocated and chased by it, leaving behind only the traces of human necessities. Harley would do anything for Peter, and he loves to say the same for Peter. They’re as thick as thieves, a dynamic duo, soulmates till the end of the line.

“Alright, I’m going, don’t bust a hip.”

Together, they made their way down the hall, Harley only lagging slightly behind. Tony obviously thought he was being subtle, but Harley could see every quick glance chucked in his direction. Saving Tony the embarrassment of asking, he answered the invisible question.

“It happened when I was 13,” Harley murmured, still loud enough to be heard. Tony registered this, and turned to him with wide eyes. They were halted in the middle of a hallway, but it was empty, so they could do what they wanted.

“Somehow, word got around that I was gay. As you can guess, coming from a small town in the middle of Tennessee, that was basically a death sentence.”

Harley’s breath stuttered. This was his first time telling someone, and lord knows it could go to shit in a flash.

“A group of kids from my school, they, uh, found me in the park late at night. They jumped me.”

Tony gave a sharp inhale at the right, hands shaking as if he was physically restraining himself from latching onto Harley’s arm and never letting go again.

“They were only roughhousing, but one of them broke my leg. There isn’t exactly an A&E in the middle of nowhere, so I did nothing about it. I guess the bone healed itself broken, and I haven’t walked correct since.”

Harley dared to look up at Tony. He was fixed with a plaintive gaze, one that was begging to help, to console the broken boy in front of him. He didn’t ask questions _(why didn’t you tell us earlier? why did you hide it? do you not trust us?),_ instead gripping Harley in a tight hug.

It seeped over him like cement, filling in every crack and crevice with safety and love. Holes that seemed as deep as the Mariana Trench became shallow pools, ones easy to avoid and lessen the damage. Honestly, it was pathetic, how much he was affected by a _hug_ , but in that moment, he didn’t care.

In that moment, he was invincible.

He could do anything with this shield surrounding him, reassuring him and protecting him. He wasn’t stupid enough to think it would last forever, but he relaxed as it formed. A temporary ban from the darkness of his mind. He wasn’t better immediately, but he would be. Eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> if you is sad now, i has a message:
> 
> you are a warm cup of tea resting in sweater-pawed hands during winter months. you are freshly baked cookies, not too hot or too cold, with extra chocolate chips. you are the coolness of swimming pools in the warm summer, and the happiness of all those who enjoy it. you are cloudless skies, early morning bird songs, and petrichor. you are smiles that make your stomach do flips, laughs that sound like the coming of angels. you are the harsh rain outside a window, wild and unchallenged. you are thick coats of snow that make it almost impossible to walk in, but nobody cares. you are the sun and moon intertwined. you are loved.
> 
> that message always makes me feel better, so i hope it helped you too! if you don't like it, ignore it, but i thought that after that mess of a oneshot spirits need to be lifted. stay snazzy, little penguins! :-)


End file.
